ETHIOPIA is located in the northeastern horn of Africa, with a total area of 1.1 million square kilometers. It is land locked country, bounded East by Djibouti and Somalia, South by Kenya, West by Sudan and North by Eritrea.

TOPOGRAPHY
Great African Rift Valley dissects Ethiopia into western and eastern highlands. These comprise 60% of the total land, and  Rift Valley with east and west coastal low lands comprises 40% of the land. The altitude difference is 4.620 meters above sea level at Ras Dashen, and the lowest point is 116 meters below sea level in the Danakil Depression.

CLIMATE
In Ethiopia there are three climate zones: tropical rainy climate, dry climate, and temperate rainy climate. The dry season prevails from October to May, and the wet season will be May to September.

PEOPLE
The population of Ethiopia is estimated at around 80 million and it embraces four main language groups, Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic and Nilo Sahra. Ethiopian people speak more than 83 languages with 200 dialects. Amharic is the official and educational language.

RELIGION
45% Christian, 45% Muslim and 10% animist.

ECONOMY
More than 80% of the population are farmers living in the rural countryside; the rest of the population lives in towns, and the majority works in trading.

TIME
Ethiopia is in GMT +3 HOUR time Zone, and timing is a 12 hour clock system in a way of counting 12 hours during the day (morning to evening) and 12 hours during the night (evening to morning). Note as Ethiopia is located not far from the equator, there is no significant time difference between night and day in all seasons.

CALENDER
Ethiopia is using it's own calendar system, which is closer to the Julian calendar System (leap day every four years, without exceptions) than to the Gregorian calendar System (no leap years e.g. in 1900 or 2100), but 7-8 years back due to an alternate calculation in determining the date of the birth of Christ. The year consists of 13 months: 12 months with 30 days and 1 month with 5 days (6 days in leap years) and begins on September 11 (September 12 in years before Gregorian leap years). For example, September 11, 2013 (Gregorian date) is the beginning of the year 2006 in Ethiopia, which ends on September 10, 2014 – so the difference to the Gregorian (and also to the Julian) year is either 7 or 8 years.

ELECTRIC SUPPLY
380/220 volts 50 cycles AC.

VISA REQUIREMENT
Visa is required for all foreign visitors and can be obtained from diplomatic offices and consular missions abroad or, for a number of countries, at the Addis Ababa Airport upon arrival.